We've all been to the counter and ordered one. Whether you are drunk, peckish, on a long road trip, or in a foreign country with the golden arches acting as your only source of home comfort, the chances are you've had a Big Mac.

McDonald's has numerous restaurants in Coventry, and its iconic Big Mac burger is one of the most easily recognisable meals in the entire world - but what are the effects of eating one?

The whole notion of fast food being bad for you is nothing novel. But health experts behind the Fast Food Menu Price website reckon eating just one of the burgers has some damaging effects on your body, though.

They reckon the burger will ignite your brain's reward system, which is also a feature of illegal class-A drugs like cocaine.

After The Renegade Pharmacist - Niraj Naik - posted a breakdown of Coca-Cola's supposed health effects in a handy infographic, the team at Fast Food Menu Price have explained exactly what process the body goes through in the 60 minutes following chowing down on the 500-calorie burger.

What happens to your body after eating a Big Mac?

First 10 minutes

Our brains evolved during a time when food was scarce, so we became adept at choosing high-calorie foods. A regular Big Mac contains 500-plus calories, and raises your blood sugar levels to abnormal heights.

Junk food triggers your brain's reward system by releasing much more 'feel-good' chemicals to ignite the feeling of pleasure.

McDonald's opened its first drive-thru in Coventry in 1986

After 20 minutes

Did you know that the Big Mac bun has high levels of high fructose corn syrup and sodium?

Both ingredients are addictive - and they'll make your body crave more, as well as being harmful ingredients which can cause diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.

After 30 minutes

A Big Mac contains 970 mg of sodium - and this huge amount will cause dehydration. With symptoms that closely mimic hunger, it's easy for dehydration to make you think that you need to go back up to the counter to order a second.

Too much intake of sodium makes it nigh on impossible for your kidneys to eliminate salt, meaning that the situation aggravates as your heart begins to work faster to pump your blood.

This triggers high blood pressure, which can ultimately lead to heart disease, or a stroke.

How many calories are in your Coventry pub and restaurant food?

After 40 minutes

You'll crave more. This is because you have lost control over your blood sugar, making you crave even more fast food.

The first time you consume a high-calorie meal, your insulin response can bring down your glucose levels by making you want to eat more. The high fructose corn syrup is quickly absorbed, causing insulin spikes and even bigger hunger pangs.

After an hour

The body takes about 24 hours to 72 hours to digest food completely. However, hamburgers take a lot more time - with Big Macs in particular being digested slowly.

They can take about three days to fully digest, as it takes a human 51 days to digest trans fat. Big Macs contain 1.5 grams of this, and studies show it can lead to obesity, cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

And, what happens in the hour after you drink Coke?

In The First 10 minutes

10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system, which works out at 100 per cent of your recommended daily intake.

20 minutes

Your blood sugar spikes, causing an insulin burst.

Your liver responds to this by turning any sugar it can get its hands on into fat.